


Short-Term Stay

by DoveFanworks



Series: Borrower!Prom [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Borrower!AU, Gen, borrower!Prom, real friendship hours begin now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 09:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21159377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoveFanworks/pseuds/DoveFanworks
Summary: Prompto swallowed down a whimper and shimmied back further into the silky lining of the pocket. Oh gods, oh gods, if Noct decided to tell him he was in here he would be powerless to stop him, and utterly trapped too.The realisation that he was completely at the human’s mercy crashed over him all over again like an ice-cold gust of winter air.





	Short-Term Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo, originally there was going to be much more of this part, and it was going to end at a completely different point. But I figured, since the word count has already gotten to a ridiculous number with still a decent sized portion left to write, so I decided to just cut it into two parts!  
Thank you all so much for your patience <3 Uni has been kicking my butt all semester but it's almost over now;v;

Not even five minutes later, Prompto decided he had been very very wrong and this was in fact the worst decision of his life. 

Because Noct had barely been waiting that long, outside if the increased sounds of the city were anything to go by, before there was the sound of a car pulling up, hurried steps, and then Specs’ familiar voice was filling his ears.

“Noct! Are you alright? Did you spot anyone following you? I told you to stay inside the-”

“Specs! Relax, I’m fine.”

Prompto swallowed down a whimper and shimmied back further into the silky lining of the pocket. Oh gods, _oh gods_, if Noct decided to tell him he was in here he would be powerless to stop him, and utterly trapped too. 

The realisation that he was completely at the human’s mercy crashed over him all over again like an ice-cold gust of winter air.

“Get in the car,” he dimly heard Specs say, “you’re to be taken to the Citadel until the threat is cleared and a full investigation is done.”

Noct groaned. Prompto didn’t know what half of those words meant but from the sound of it they must have been bad.

“In the car,” Specs repeated, tone dropping dangerously. The world jerked softly, before Prompto felt himself moving again. The bag was shuffled carefully around as he assumed Noct got into the car, before things settled once again.

Before the silence could grow too stifling, the engine rumbled to life and for the first time in his life Prompto was subjected to what a car ride felt like.

It was… odd to say the least. Like he was floating. Only made worse by the fact that he couldn’t see anything.

He felt the wall of the bag to his left nudge him, making him jump though he managed to choke down a yelp. The fabric pushed gently against him again, and after another moment of confusion he realised it must of been Noct, asking if he was ok the only way he could. 

Prompto swallowed, not sure if the touch was welcome or not, his gut said hell no even as his chest was fluttering with warmth that he was even bothering to check in with him at all. He hesitated, before slowly shifting to push back against what he assumed was Noct’s hand.

Noct pushed gently back at him twice more, letting him know he had felt it, before stilling again.

“Noct, how could you have possibly known about that bomb?” Specs said lowly.

Any fluttery, warm feelings in his chest swiftly left him.

Noct too seemed startled, only for the briefest of moments though, before he started speaking again.

“I got home and there was this weird beeping sound, really quiet and it didn’t go off often, but it was annoying me, so I tried looking for it and found it coming from a box under the couch, wasn’t really hard to put two and two together.”

Specs hummed lowly.

“Odd,” he muttered, “such a flaw should have been obvious to the scum who left it.”

“Maybe it was faulty,” Noct said, feigning indifference.

“You’re taking this remarkably calmly,” Specs said, a little tightly, “a very real threat was just made against your life, one you narrowly escaped fro-”

“So what’s new?” Noctis spat. Prompto felt his breath constrict in his chest, holding it vice like in his lungs.

“Noct,” Specs said slowly, almost pained, before releasing a soft sigh. Prompto felt his release with it.

“Fault or not,” Specs continued, “there will need to be a full investigation, you likely will not be able to return to your apartment until those responsible are apprehended.”

Prompto listened intently from his hiding place, silently begging for an actual guess at how long this would take. It seemed Noct was riding a similar train of thought, as he voiced what he himself could not.

“How long do you reckon that’s gonna take?”

“I haven’t a clue I’m afraid,” Specs said with a sigh and Prompto slumped, apprehension prickling under his skin at the idea of an extended stay in a place he didn’t know, only exacerbated by the bespectacled bean’s next words, “Noct, you may well not be allowed to leave the Citadel for- for a long while, such a close call is not going to go over well…”

Noctis didn’t answer, but the displeasure all but radiating off of him was far from subtle.

“Will I be able to go back at all?” He mumbled after another beat. Prompto strained to listen, his stomach churning.

Specs sighed softly.

“I.. can’t say, it will depend on how the investigation goes, and whether whoever set this acted alone or in part with others.”

“Ugh, can’t we just up security for a while or something?”

“I know you don’t enjoy staying at the Citadel, but it’s for your own safety Noct,” Specs said evenly, and Prompto was already certain that was a hard no, “you will just have to wait until after the investigation.”

Noctis sighed harshly, but didn’t bother to argue further. Prompto’s heart sank, realising he had been correct. Getting back to all his gear may not have been as easy as Noct had made it seem.

_Stupid_. 

What the hell had he expected, of course he wouldn’t be going back, of course he wouldn’t-

No. This wasn’t Noct’s fault, none of it was. How could he have known? He couldn’t have, the logical part of him said, the human hadn’t meant for him to get stuck in this with him. Still, it was looking like his stay had just been extended, and he hadn’t even reached this ‘Citadel’ place yet.

Forcing himself to recline back into the curve of the pocket, he took a few deep breaths and tried to push his thoughts to something else, deliberating that he wouldn’t know anything for sure until he could talk to Noct again.

He kept himself occupied with wondering what this new place would be like, whether it would be even nicer or perhaps a bit more common than the apartment he was used to, blocking out the bean’s conversation as it doubled back into the boring details of the incident. He could at least be reassured by the fact that Noct seemed to be sticking to his word and hadn’t revealed him to Specs, at least not yet.

That is, at least until he felt the car begin to slow, jostling him a little as the massive machine came to a complete stop, but it didn’t move on after a short while as it had done repeatedly on the trip so far. In fact, this time he felt the thrum of the mechanics weaken a little, the growl dropping to a low purr and it seemed to settle around him.

Were they there already? He felt his stomach flip with nerves at the thought, very soon he would have to come to terms not only with this new, hopefully temporary home, but also the whole dilemma of how to deal with Noct. After all, he would have been lying if he said he hadn’t been thinking of quietly slinking off into the walls of wherever this new place was as soon as the opportunity presented itself. The only issue was…

If he did that then he truly would be saying goodbye forever to the last remnants of his parents. Not to mention, well, a part of him would kind of feel guilty about just disappearing on Noct, as ridiculous as that notion was. After all the work the human had put in to try and prove he could trust him and all, he’d kind of feel bad if he just disappeared on the guy, considering how apparently worried he was for his safety.

Any sane borrower would have fled the first chance they got. Hell, any sane borrower wouldn’t have even gotten themselves into this mess to begin with.

Still, Noct hadn’t done anything bad to him yet, and considering he hadn’t revealed him to Specs when it would have been so easy, he was inclined to lean more into the small part of him willing to trust the human. He blinked at the sound of one of the car doors opening.

“So Charmless you can barely go a week without another drama huh?”

_Oh gods. _

Prompto immediately felt his heart rate spike, a squeak clawing its way out of his throat before he could clamp a hand over his mouth to stop it.

“Did you guys hear something just now?” Gladio growled and Prompto felt every hair on his body spark up with animalistic terror.

Noct cleared his throat loudly.

“Sorry, had the hiccups on and off all afternoon.”

Gladio huffed.

“That your bomb alarm going off then or what? How the fuck did you manage to find a bomb in your apartment?”

Prompto let himself slowly relax as Noct spun the same fake tale all over again, willing his heart to stop attempting to force its way out his mouth. The car rumbled to life once more, and the strange, gliding feeling returned as they pulled out of wherever it was they had stopped.

He could feel his hands shaking, but he pressed them down beneath his thighs to still them, straining to tune out the rumble of the larger bean’s voice, the warm fabric around him suddenly feeling far too much like colossal hands closing around his far too little body.

He wished he could come up for some fresh air, but he didn’t dare even risk sticking his head out of the pocket, all too aware that it would only take one errant glimpse of him to bring the thin charade crashing down.

At long last, however, he felt the car slowing once again, driving on at a crawl for what felt like an eon before finally coming to a stop.

“King Regis has requested your presence as soon as possible,” Specs said over the sound of multiple doors opening. Prompto forced himself to remain still as the bag jostled, softly swaying with Noct’s large steps.

“Fine, but I’m gonna stop by my room first,” Noct replied, that air of disinterest blanketing his voice once more.

“It is rude to keep your father waiting, Noct,” Specs huffed.

“I’m just gonna dump my bag then I’ll be right back down, I’ll be five minutes at most.”

Gladio grunted and Prompto gave an aborted flinch.

“You can’t just hold on to it?”

Noct made an irritated sound.

“Can’t I even freshen up before I have to face my dad or what?”

Prompto shifted uncomfortably, hearing Specs release a soft sigh.

“Very well Noct, we’ll stop by there first then, quickly now.”

“I don’t need a damn entourage,” Noct griped, but continued walking nonetheless.

“We just know how long your five minutes can be Charmless.” 

“Ugh, whatever.”

The conversation lulled, the words soft and short when they did crop up, tied down by some tension Prompto wasn’t privy to. It felt like they walked for an age, his mind running rampant over how large the place must have been to be walking so long, and he felt the distinct sensation of at least one elevator ride along the way. By the time they reached their final destination, Prompto was tense all over again. He jumped at the sound of what had to be a truly enormous door opening, the bag swaying with more steps as a tired sigh echoed above him.

“Be quick Noct,” Specs reminded.

“Yeah yeah I’m going,” Noct huffed back, but he sounded hesitant, “just gimme a sec.”

The bag jostled then stilled for a long moment, as if Noct couldn’t decide what to do with him, before it began to move again. There was a dull bump beneath him before gravity slowly began to shift and he knew the bag was carefully being lain down on its side.

‘So he could get out,’ Prompto thought, swallowing tensely. There was an awkward silence that stretched between him and the human he knew was still near, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Probably because Specs and Gladio were still in the room.

“Noct c’mon!” Gladio bellowed, making him jump, “the King’s waiting.”

“Alright I’m coming,” Noct snapped, the sound of quickly retreating footsteps following, a door opening, the dim yet familiar sound of deodorant being sprayed, water running in giant pipes, more rushed footsteps, and finally, the deep thump of giant doors closing. 

And then nothing.

Prompto waited, body taught and ears straining for the slightest sound. One minute passed, then two, then five. Silence echoed in his skull, almost deafening in its own way. Finally, he began to ease himself forward, crawling on his belly towards the opening.

He peeked out into the larger bag, finding the books and pencil case laid out beneath him and thanking Noct for laying the bag so his hiding place hadn’t been crushed beneath anything. After waiting another half minute, and still hearing nothing, he made his move.

Prompto crawled out from the pocket painfully slowly, remembering his pin halfway out and scrambling back to grab it before slipping out the gap between the bag and the flap over top, wriggling out easily when he found it still wasn’t latched down. He had to admit he was kind of surprised by that. 

The light outside was almost too bright as he cautiously stepped outside, glancing about as he gingerly moved away from cover and squinting to take in as much of this new place as he could. 

When his eyes finished adjusting, he almost immediately wished he could crawl back inside again.

The room was enormous, easily twice the size of the conjoined living room and kitchen in Noct’s apartment, and far grander in every way. Wall to ceiling windows stretched the entirety of the far wall, afternoon light streaming past thick, dark curtains pulled back and tied with navy ropes. Beyond the glass, what he could see of the height they were at made his gut shrink away to nothing inside of him. It made the familiar view of the apartment seem almost at ground level in comparison.

Inside however, there wasn’t nearly as much. No kitchen, which made the more anxious part of him immediately begin to worry about how he would find enough to eat, he hadn’t exactly brought anything with him, and he had no idea how long he would be here. Beyond that, the place was set up like a colossal bedroom, with the largest bed he had ever seen dead centre, its ornate headboard pushed against the wall. 

Though, on the other side of the room, there was also a set of black couches, a small coffee table and a giant TV mounted on the wall. Beyond that, and the desk he realised he was standing upon, there really wasn’t that much and it felt surprisingly… _empty_.

“This is… big,” he said faintly.

He expected a reply, and he winced when he realised that, shaking his head at himself and refocusing. He had to work out what the hell to do next.

His hand fell to his belt, relief flooding through him when he found the familiar coiled up string of his grappling hook, for a moment he had feared he had left it behind. At least he had a way down to the floor now, that was a start.

His mind set, he quickly unhooked and unravelled it, jamming the point of the fishhook into a notch in the wood and taking the leap down, flicking the hook loose again with a sharp tug on the line when he reached the ground. Once he had rerolled the line and reattached it to his belt, he scanned the immense world around him, wondering where to start. 

The couches were fairly obvious, but from the view he had had on the desk, there wasn’t really much to be found there, and there was no way in hell he was going to try the TV. Turning his head to the left, his gaze was instantly drawn to the giant windows lining the entire far wall, the expanse of brilliant blue sky beyond making his stomach flip at the thought of how high up he must have been to not be able to see the tops of other buildings.

Well, that was certainly something to occupy him. Glancing along the length of the wall, he noted that, while most of the windows spanned from the floor to the ceiling, towards the corners of the room were sections lined with low windowsills and draped in thick, dark curtains. Perfect for hiding if any unwanted company turned up.

His mind set, he began the long trek across the room. His body was primed to make a break for it at the slightest hint of a bean, every creak and groan of the apparently immense building making him twitch worse than an agitated field mouse. He diverted his path a little so he could dart beneath the immense bed, immediately relaxing a little under its shadow. Some cover was always better than none.

Finally, he stopped at the edge of the far wall, tilting his head back to eye the rim of the window sill and calculating whether his hook had enough string attached to reach it. He nodded once to himself, unravelling the string again and adjusting his hold so the hook hung from his loose fist down to just under his waist. Sucking in a deep breath, he began to swing it in wide circles, picking up speed until it was a blur in the corner of his vision, his eyes locked on his target.

The metal of the hook whistled through the air when he released it, arching up and up and up and disappearing over the edge of the dark wood rim, the tiny ‘ding’ as it struck metal meeting his ears. 

Prompto released the breath he had been holding, giving the line an experimental tug and cracking into a grin when it went taught, latched to something above.

“First time,” he crowed to himself, anxiously glancing about and relaxing when the room remained still and empty around him. Shaking himself, he wrapped the last of the length of string around his leg, as his mother had always shown him, before hauling himself up.

Prompto was good at climbing, as a borrower he kind of had to be, but by the time he pulled himself up on to the sun warmed wood he had to admit he was a bit worn out. The stressful events of the day must have finally been taking their toll he mused as he once again rolled up his grappling gear. 

When he turned at last to look beyond the window he felt the breath rush out of his lungs like he had just been kicked. The entire city stretched before him, like a map rolled out across a table. He was so high up that no other building even came close, it was mind-boggling to try and take in, his stomach clenching tight when he dared to glance downwards. Oh yeah, this was way higher than he had ever even flown on his sparrow, this was just insane.

And as his mind slowly worked over that, he came to the realisation that there was only one place in the city he could possibly be, and he could have slapped himself for not putting too and too together. He had heard mention of the place in passing, the twin towers that sat in the very centre of Insomnia. You know, the tallest buildings in the city with the giant blue magic beam shooting out of it. _The_ _Citadel_.

_What the fuck? How did he even-_

This was insane. Just yesterday it had been unthinkable. Once upon a time, he remembered asking his mother about the towering, glowing building on the horizon, and she had told him that no borrower that entered it stayed for long, that the air there felt _wrong_. Charged and taught, like standing next to a faulty electric cable, you knew there was something dangerous there, even if your eyes were telling you there wasn’t.

He tilted his head, sucked in a deep breath, let it settle on his tongue just to see if it was true. Felt like air to him.

He wasn’t sure if that was disappointing or not, but he shrugged the memory aside, knowing it was never fun to dwell on anything related to his parents these days. He settled on the warm wood with a sigh, staring out at the horizon and idly wondering where the building they had come from sat amid the sprawling cityscape.

The sun was a balm to his tired muscles, strained from being held so taught for so long and the added ache from all the climbing. Within minutes he was blinking back waves of drowsiness as the sun settled beneath his skin and deep within his bones. He glanced about nervously, wondering how long it would be before Noct returned, if anyone else would come in here in the meantime, but mostly on whether he should have been finding a way into the walls and disappearing.

_And go where?_

A place this immense, this high up, he was liable to become lost in here for the rest of his life. A decidedly short one if he risked it and then never managed to find food or water quick enough. No, it looked like he really didn’t have much choice, he would just have to wait for Noct to come back. He had to trust him. 

Prompto heaved a sigh, pushing himself to his feet and shambling down to the far wall of the window ledge, hidden away behind thick, dark curtains. A quick way to climb down in a pinch too if, gods forbid, another bean did turn up.

Flopping back down on his stomach, he pillowed his head on his crossed arms, watching the enormous city chug along below, wondering what it must have been like to live a life without fear of something as mundane as a housecat or a lack of food. To walk outside and never wonder if a bird would snatch you up or a misplaced boot would be your end. 

_Must be nice_, he mused as he let his eyes fall shut, just for a moment.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Prompto?”

“Wh-?” Prompto mumbled, rolling on to his side. He grunted at how hard the surface was beneath him, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that. At least it was warm. So wonderfully warm.

“Prompto? Are you here?”

His eyes flew open, body jerking violently, launching himself halfway up and biting down a hiss of pain as his cramped muscles protested. Gods, napping on hardwood had been a bad idea. Oh fuck, napping in general in an unknown place filled with unknown beans had been a bad idea. 

“Hello?”

How long had he been out? A glance out the window told him that the sun hadn’t dipped that much, still very much early afternoon it seemed. That was at least a small relief. Hesitantly, he turned his attention to the more pressing matter of-

“Prompto? It’s me.” 

Noctis was back.

“You can come out, I’m alone.”

Prompto didn’t move, didn’t dare even breathe, he just sat and waited. His brain had hit a wall, darting feverishly between the instinct to run and the urge to call out.

“Hello?”

It was Noct. _It was just Noct_. The same Noct who had made sure he wasn’t trapped in his bag and then left him alone, practically gift wrapping a chance for him to escape. A chance that he hadn’t taken.

“Prom?” Noct repeated, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

His lips parted in surprise at the nickname, a tiny breath leaving him as he recalled his parents using it, now and again when their eyes had been lit with love.

“Prompto?” Noct called again, even quieter than before, a soft, sad note of realisation tinging his name this time.

Prompto flattened his back against the warm glass, letting it sear into his skin as he pressed his hands hard against his eyes. Last chance, he could do it, he could slip away right now. It would be easy, hell it already sounded like Noct had accepted that he was gone.

The silence dragged on, Noct sighed faintly. Prompto bit back a groan and forced himself to his feet, padding out from behind the sun-warm curtains. He did a quick scan just to make sure Specs and Gladio truly weren’t around, relieved when he found no sign of either of them. Just a very depressed looking Noct with his back leant against the chair at his desk, staring off at nothing.

“I’m over here,” he called.

Noct snapped upright like he had been shocked, eyes shooting up and around the area he had called from until they landed on him. Prompto was a little proud when he didn’t shiver this time. A huge grin split Noct’s face.

“You’re still here,” he said giddily, quickly crossing the distance to the window.

“I don’t even know where ‘here’ is,” he mumbled in reply, craning his neck to maintain eye contact, “where would I go?”

“I guess,” Noct said, halting before him, hesitant, “you could have though, left I mean, while I was gone.”

Prompto considered him carefully for a long moment.

“Yeah,” he said finally, “I could have.”

That warm smile returned, and for once Prompto let himself revel a little in the sight of it. Slowly, Noct raised a hand to the edge of the windowsill, questioning but not forceful.

“Want something to eat?”

Prompto wavered, but it was even more fleeting this time, before straightening himself and stepping once again into the Prince’s palm.

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m telling you, you can have anything you’d like.”

Prompto was still reeling honestly. When Noct had mentioned food he had expected him to just heat up some leftovers and maybe, if he was lucky, allow him to scavenge some of the better parts for once. Instead he had brought up an immense list of dishes on his phone and told him to choose whatever he liked.

“I can’t just order an entire human meal,” he spluttered for what must have been the fifth time now.

“You can,” Noct repeated, looking far too amused, “I’ll eat whatever you don’t, don’t worry.”

“I don’t even know half of these words,” he whined, pawing at the tilted phone screen again to scroll down the list. It just seemed to go on forever.

Noct raised his head from where it had slumped into his crossed arms, pillowed atop the desk he was back on.

“Wait, you can read right?”

Prompto pouted.

“Yes, I’m just, not the best at it?” He said, glowering at a particular word that just had to have way too many apostrophes to be real, “haven’t really kept up practicing, s’not like I have any books or anything.”

“You guys don’t have like, tiny books?”

“We do, but they’re hard to come by,” Prompto mumbled, squinting to at least try and make sense of the mess of words before him, “you have to know borrowers who can make and bind books, we’re pretty hard to find in general so, books are pretty rare for us.”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense,” Noct said slowly, before he perked up again, “well, there’s tons of books in the Citadel library, I can take you there if you wanted?”

Prompto turned to look at him, hesitant. 

“Won’t there be more beans there?”

“Nah the library’s pretty much always empty these days,” Noct said, resting his chin on one hand, “you’d be pretty safe, but I could just bring some back here if you’d prefer.”

“Maybe, don’t really know how far I’d get, I can barely read this stuff.”

Noct hummed, carefully moving to retake his phone, telegraphing his movements clearly. Prompto stepped back as he plucked the device that was longer than he was tall up with no effort, turning the screen back to face him. 

“Well, you borrow my food right? So can you describe some of the stuff you’ve liked in the past to me so I can tell you what it was?”

“Uh,” Prompto said intelligently, borrowing sure was a nice way of putting the fact that he stole from his meals regularly. Borrowers were only supposed to take things that weren’t noticed, not food directly from a bean’s plate. 

“C’mon, you’ve gotta have a favourite.”

“Um, well, there- there was this one thing that, uh, Specs made once…”

“Iggy makes a lot of things,” Noct said, sounding amused, “you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific.”

“Which one’s his actual name?” Prompto blurted, flushing instantly. He hadn’t meant to say that, but he was genuinely confused. He had kind of just always assumed his actual name was Specs, given how often Noct called him that, but now that he actually thought on it, he wasn’t so sure. Plus, it did give him time to recall the details of the particular dish he liked.

Noct blinked in bemusement.

“Who? You mean Iggy?”

“Uh, yeah?” Prompto said, looking away as his flush climbed up to his cheeks, “I thought- I thought his real name was Specs, but you use so many that I don’t actually know.”

Noct snorted and Prompto felt shame crawl up his back.

“Hey no it’s fine it’s- you haven’t done anything wrong,” Noct said quickly, realising his amusement had been misinterpreted, “it’s just kinda funny y’know? Anyway, his actual name is Ignis, everything else is just a nickname.”

“Oh,” Prompto said, wincing at how long he had gone getting it wrong, “why does he need so many?”

Noct shrugged.

“He’s just an easy guy to give nicknames to, anyway, you remembered what food you liked yet?”

Prompto huffed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes but relieved that the conversation had steered away from his embarrassment.

“It was like, mostly vegetables, since I guess you don’t like those, in this spicy green sauce.”

Noct made a face at the word vegetables.

“I don’t, you can have all the veggies you want, even better you can eat mine, might get Ignis off my back for once.”

Prompto felt a smile tug at his lips.

“I can’t eat that much, but are you kidding? It’s the best stuff I’ve ever tasted.”

Noct groaned, leaning back in his desk chair with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

“Then you clearly haven’t had the best of Iggy’s cooking, but I think I know what you’re talking about, it’s called green curry soup.”

“Green curry soup?” Prompto repeated, tilting his head curiously. Noct nodded, smiling a little.

“Yeah Iggy was experimenting with it a couple months ago, it wasn’t bad but I’m not super into spicy stuff, so I wasn’t really in a rush to have it again.”

“Damn, I love spicy food,” Prompto said, before wincing and pulling himself back, “but uh, I can choose something else if you-if you don’t like that.”

Noct blinked in surprise, a flash of guilt entering his eyes.

“Oh, no really, it’s fine, I told you to order whatever you wanted, I honestly don’t mind.”

“But I-”

“Dude, you do realise you literally saved my life today, right?”

Prompto’s jaw snapped closed, eyes wide.

“I wouldn’t have known about that bomb until it was too late if it wasn’t for you,” Noct said, his eyes warm and filled with emotions he didn’t feel ready to identify, “this is honestly the least I can do to thank you, so let me, please?”

Prompto worried his lip, still certain he shouldn’t be allowed all of this luxury, or even be accepting it, before nodding slowly.

Noct grinned happily, and Prompto felt the anxious knot loosen in his chest.

“So, green curry soup it is then?”

“Sounds great.”

Noct disappeared for a short while once that was settled, presumably to somehow order their meal. He honestly had no idea how that sort of thing worked, borrowers didn’t have the luxury of just going somewhere and picking whatever wonderful food they wanted. His diet had always been based on opportunity and what was readily available.

It must have seemed a little silly, but he had to admit he was excited. He never got to choose things, he took what the world gave him. To have the ability to actually choose something he wanted, even something as simple as a meal, filled him with a childish glee.

He passed the time wandering across the empty desk, peeking curiously into the drawers and on to the shelves lining the back wall. It was clear no one had used this room in quite a while, at least not for an extended stay, because there was almost nothing to see. A couple of ridiculously fancy looking pens rattled in one of the small drawers when he heaved it out far enough to look inside. Other than that though, there was practically nothing here.

It was odd, filling his chest with a melancholic feeling he could scarcely identify. Like he shouldn’t even be occupying this empty, echoing place. 

The sound of the door to the room opening again made him jolt from his musings, relieved that Noct was back to end the silence.

He turned, mouth open to greet him, only to very nearly choke on his tongue.

_It wasn’t Noct_.

“Hey Noct, Iggy wants you to-” 

Gladio cut himself off, glancing across the room and quickly realising his quarry wasn’t there, a frown tugging his lips downward. 

Prompto bit down a whimper, forcing himself to drop into a crouch achingly slowly. He knew if he moved too fast the human’s eyes would only be drawn to him, though honestly, he was amazed that the noise his heart was making hadn’t already. By sheer luck, Gladio turned his head the other way, looking towards the couch and TV like he expected Noct to be lurking there.

He glanced behind him, searching desperately for any kind of cover and cursing the fact that Noct had moved his bag so he couldn’t even scramble back inside that to hide. 

Gladio gave an irritated grunt, stomping further into the room, the door closing behind him with a decidedly final ‘bang’. 

“Noct?” He called, “you in here?”

Prompto was hit with a very strange wave of deja-vu, backing up slowly until he hit the gleaming, ornate handle of the small drawer. Oh… that would do.

He just needed to inch it open enough to climb in without alerting Gladio. 

He froze as the towering bean passed before him, huffing a sigh as he lumbered over towards the giant windows. 

Prompto shuffled closer towards the drawer as soon as he disappeared around the edge of the desk’s attached shelving, every step measured and silent. His lungs ached with the strain of holding back his panic, begging for more air than he was giving them. 

The chill of the metal latch jolted through his skin as his fingers found it, eyes still darting up and around feverishly. He wouldn’t have long. As slow as he dared with the suffocating presence of the giant human still pressing down on him, he began to heave the drawer open, millimeter by millimeter until the opening was just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

He froze at the sound of another door loudly opening, not the giant main entrance, a smaller sounding one, obviously to the adjoining bathroom. It sounded close, just on the other side of the shelves currently shielding him from view, and he scrambled to shimmy his way into the encompassing darkness of his hiding spot. He carefully avoiding kicking the pens inside, crawling his way as far back as he could until his back hit the far corner and even then he pressed further, until he was practically wedged into the wood. 

A tiny sigh of relief slipped past his lips, practically non-existent. _Ok, ok this was good, this was fine, all he had to do now was wait_. Be quiet, still, and patient. He could do that in his sleep.

The rim of light at the narrow opening of the drawer went dark as an enormous shadow fell across it and Prompto’s breath froze in his lungs.

_Oh gods_.

A sharp grunt echoed above him, somehow the most suspicious sound he had ever heard in his life. Prompto squeezed himself back as hard as he could, as though he might phase clean through the wood if he just pressed hard enough.

The shadow shifted over his hiding spot, he heard wood creak and the rustle of movement, before his heart jackhammered into overtime at the clatter and rumble as the drawer beside him was pulled open.

_Oh gods oh gods- please gods don’t-_.

The shadow shifted again, and he could almost hear that gigantic hand sweeping through the air towards him. He closed his eyes and faintly wished that it had been Spec- Ignis, at least then he was fairly certain his death would be swift. He always seemed driven by efficiency.

He heard the metal latch at the front clatter, felt the tremble of the world begin to shift just before he would be yanked out into the light and-

“Gladio! The hell are you doing in here?”

“What?” Gladio started, his large shadow jerking away, and the drawer stilling beneath him, “geez Charmless calm down, I came here for you, where the hell did you get off to anyway?”

“The fuck are you snooping round my room for then?!”

“I’m not!” Gladio snarled and Prompto physically deflated at the sound of his heavy steps fading away, “gods damn what’re you biting my head off for?!

Prompto tuned out the argument that followed, too focused on trying to calm his laboured breaths and not burst into hysterically relieved laughter as he slumped bonelessly in the bottom of the drawer. His heart was running ragged, slamming borderline painfully against the entrance to his throat. 

Gods that had been too close. _Way too close_.

“I’m not overreacting!” He heard Noct spit, sounding more furious than he had ever heard, and he had heard his fair share of the bean’s rage, “you shouldn’t be snooping through my stuff!”

“Well fuck, Charmless, I’m not tryin’ to rob you! I just thought I heard something rattling around in your desk.”

“There’s nothing in there,” Noct hissed, too quickly. Prompto went rigid, wading through the suspicious silence that followed, the humans no doubt having a stare down of sorts.

Finally, he heard Gladio grunt harshly.

“Whatever, if a rat comes and bites you on the ass don’t come crying to me-“ the drum of his heavy steps began again, moving away, “-Iggy wants to see you, don’t know why he fucking would.”

The last part was muttered pointedly and Prompto couldn’t help but flinch at the anger in his voice.

“Fine,” Noct said back, utterly devoid of emotion. Now _that_, that was something that itched every one of his instincts. This… this wasn’t the same Noct he had spent most of the afternoon with, the one that had refused to leave his bomb-laced apartment until he had agreed to come with him.

The slam of the front door made him jump and freeze up instantly, silence descending for a few achingly long moments, before the sound of hurried steps had him scrambling back before his mind could remind him it was just Noct.

_It was just Noct_. Noct wouldn’t hurt him, he had proven that.

“Prom?” Noctis called softly, all traces of his previous anger gone now. Prompto shivered, wondering once more if any of this had been a good idea.

“Prompto? I’m so sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t think anyone would come in here.”

He screwed his eyes closed in the dark, hugging his middle and curling tighter into himself, still forcing back the last dregs of his panic.

“Are you here?” Noctis said, sounding more concerned by the second, “I don’t know where you’re hiding, are you ok?”

“I’m ok,” he heard himself croak, flinching when the rattle of the drawer handle followed a few moments later before it was slowly pulled open by a giant hand. Prompto winced, blinking against the glaring light and trying not to tremble at the bleary shape of the human peering worriedly down at him.

But he couldn’t mask how his whole body tensed, or the sharp hitch in his breath when Noct carefully reached a hand towards him. 

Noctis froze, his hand halting immediately, and Prompto flicked his eyes away, hot shame crawling up his throat. He didn’t want to see the look on his face.

He had been doing so well, had been enjoying even having the ability to talk to someone so much, and now here he was shying away like a trembling mouse all over again. From the human who had just gotten into an argument with a friend purely to keep his own presence a secret, which he had only had to do because he had made him promise to.

Prompto bit back a whimper, biting the inside of his cheek to distract from the itch he could feel behind his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he stammered, hating how he could already feel his hands shaking where he still had them wrapped around his middle, “I’m so-sorry I- I thought it was you-”

“Hey, hey Prom, it’s alright, you didn’t-”

“I shouldn’t- shouldn’t have been out in the open,” he mumbled, not even sure whether he was talking to himself or to Noct at this point, “I got too comfortable.”

“It’s alright, it’s alright bud,” Noct said soothingly, “he didn’t see you, Gladio doesn’t know you’re here.”

Prompto shook his head roughly.

“It was stupid,” he spat, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I got too comfortable, I’m not supposed to- borrowers aren’t supposed to be comfortable around humans, I don’t know why I’m-”

“I want you to be comfortable,” Noctis said, the gentleness in his tone so at odds with his anger mere minutes prior that it stopped his panicked train of thought in its tracks. Prompto tentatively glanced upwards, finding that same worried look hadn’t ebbed at all amidst his stuttering admission. Noctis waited until he met his eyes before giving him a small, reassuring smile, though he was careful not to loom over him, which Prompto was grateful for.

“I want you to be comfortable,” Noct said again, and it was just as nice to hear the sentiment a second time, even if he doubted it could ever be true, “I know it’s probably hard for you- especially after everything and, uh, that, just now -but I want you to feel safe here, I want you to feel safe with me.”

“How can I?” Prompto blurted, “everything around here could kill me, or some other bean could take me away and what then? Not all humans are… like you.”

He trailed off, worrying his lip and glancing away again. He hated this, hated how his gut roiled against him, against that instinctive urge to distance himself from the human. Most of all, he hated how apparently eager he was to please Noct already, realising far too late just how desperate he was for any kind of positive contact, so much so that the few hours he had spent already just being able to have a _conversation _had hooked him like a drug.

_But still..._

“There’s a reason we fear you,” he mumbled faintly, his eyes rooted on the dark wood of the drawer he was still curled within.

The silence that followed was deafening. Prompto winced, already scrambling to think of something to say to end the awkwardness that had descended but Noct was speaking before he could think of more than one word.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” Noct said, something fierce in his voice now that forced his gaze up to meet his, “Prom, I promise you, you never have to be afraid of me.”

“I-”

He knew what he wanted to say, what he always said, because it was the truth… wasn’t it? He couldn’t trust Noct. He couldn’t trust humans. That was how his kind survived, that close a call should have been a cold slap of reality: he wasn’t safe here.

_But he wasn’t safe anywhere_.

He blinked back into himself, noticing that Noct was still watching him with obvious concern, but still he hadn’t moved closer. Finally, he nodded slowly.

“I… I believe you.”

Noctis broke into one of those warm smiles of his, the one that made his chest flutter, but it faltered after a second, settling back to that firm, determined set.

“I won’t be so careless again, I’ll make sure you’re not stranded somewhere you can’t hide, and lock the doors in future.”

Prompto felt himself nodding along, even as a small voice in the back of his head piped up to remind him that locks were useless to anyone who had the key. 

Noctis nodded gently back, hesitating before he continued.

“I hate that you have to hide, I get why but, look, just know that while you’re here you’re under my protection, alright? No one here’s gonna hurt you while I’m around, ok?”

The uncertainty must have shown on his face.

“I’m the Prince, people kind of have to listen to me,” he said with a small grin.

“I still don’t know what that means,” Prompto mumbled, carefully uncurling and pushing himself up, finally moving to crawl out of the drawer.

“It means you don’t have to worry so much,” Noctis said, hesitating before slowly offering him the back of a knuckle for balance as he climbed out. Prompto took it, resting his entire hand against him to clamber back over the lip, dropping back down onto the desk and immediately stumbling when he very suddenly realised that his legs were shaking too hard to hold him.

Instead of hitting hard wood however, he slumped into a large, warm hand. The back of Noct’s hand tilted carefully against him, gently easing him back to his feet before pulling away, letting him find his balance on his own but hovering close in case he fell again. 

“Easy bud,” Noct huffed, “take it slow, I’ve got you.”

As though that were the final straw needed to break the last of his walls, Prompto crumbled. He felt himself lurching the last of the way forward, blindly reaching for the physical contact he had always been told to fear. Fat, heavy tears scorched burning lines down his cheeks but he could hardly bring himself to care.

“Shit, Prom, are you hurt? Fuck I’m so-“

“Thank you,” Prompto stammered, squeezing his eyes shut to fight back the itch of tears and latching on to the nearest digit, “thank you so much, if he had found me I- I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Hey, dude it’s- it’s ok,” Noct said gently, apparently realising just how terrified he was, “I guess you haven’t really had the best first impression of the guy, but he’s really not all that bad, and I know he wouldn’t hurt you.”

“N-no!” Prompto hissed, a violent shudder racking his spine as he curled into himself, “please, d-don’t make me- he’s too- too-”

“Big?” Noct said softly.

Not exactly the word he would have used, but he nodded shakily. Close enough.

“I can’t really imagine how terrifying everything must be for you,” Noctis said carefully, ever so delicately running the side of his thumb down his back, and the physical contact felt far too wonderful to pull away from, “I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone else about you unless you were ok with it, and I’m not about to break my word.”

“Thank you,” Prompto breathed, unable to hold back a raspy giggle as he wiped roughly at his eyes, still barely believing he could be this lucky, “I-I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

Noctis shrugged.

“Watch a movie with me?” He suggested.

Prompto blinked up at him in bemusement.

“What?”

“Um, we can watch a movie, if you’d like?” He said, a soft flush painting his pale cheeks as his gaze flickered away, “it might take your mind off of, y’know, and I mean, I’m guessing you like the TV.”

It was Prompto’s turn to blush now, his neck instantly burning up. 

“I suppose you could say that,” he mumbled, smiling in relief when Noct huffed a soft laugh, “it’d be kinda nice to watch something without it being so dishonest.”

“Eh, I think I can forgive you for it,” Noctis said, grinning as he straightened up, his expression twinging with the briefest flicker of pain as his back popped, before gently extending a hand palm-up for him, “any movies in particular you like?”

“Um, I don’t, uh, know?” Prompto admitted sheepishly, crawling into his waiting palm with barely a moment of hesitation, settling on his knees quite comfortably, “um, what’s a movie?”

Noctis blinked in surprise, carefully lifting him off of the desk and heading leisurely towards the couch, his large movements kept surprisingly gentle.

“They’re like, larger more expensive tv shows? You’ve probably watched some before without even realising,” he explained. 

“Probably,” Prompto agreed, scratching at his neck in embarrassment, “I don’t really… know a lot of human names for things, sorry.”

“It’s ok, I don’t mind explaining stuff,” Noct replied, sounding cheerier than he had ever heard him before, “besides, I think I know a movie you’ll enjoy.”

There was a sour, ticklish feeling at the back of his throat, no doubt from his tears, and he swallowed to rid himself of it, cleaning himself up a bit when Noctis set him gently on the back of the sofa. He eagerly listened as Noct explained more about movies and something called ‘streaming’ that he had never heard of before as he set things up, and barely noticed when the sour tingling started to creep right back.

~~~~~~~~~~

“So, let me get this straight,” Prompto said around a mouthful of flat bread soaked in curry sauce, “a Prince is… a baby King, and a King is someone who rules over other humans?”

“You’re getting closer,” Noct said with a nod, popping a piece of meat into his mouth.

“Your father’s the King-”

“Yeah.”

“-and one day you’ll take his place, and rule over Insomnia?”

They had gotten through most of the movie (which was turning out to be eons better than most of the so-called daytime TV he had been consuming) before a knock at the door had seen Prompto bolting beneath the nearest pillow to hide. It had only been some bean he had never heard before bringing in the food Noct had ordered and just as quickly leaving, and the residual fear that had sprung to grip his throat was quickly washed away by the incredible smell that had hung heavy in the air. 

And then Noct had placed him gently back on the desk and slid a couple of bowls filled with more food than he had ever seen in his life in front of him. 

“Well,” Noct said, and Prompto glanced up when he noticed a certain flatness that had entered his voice, and his eyes, “it’s a bit more complex than that, it used to be more than the city, all of Lucis but… it’s complicated.”

Prompto honestly had no idea, but he could tell it wasn’t something Noct wanted to talk about (like when he had gotten excited about actually having hot food for once and his face had gone all pinched like he was in pain), so he shifted back to a far more pressing issue.

“Ok, I’m still stuck on the whole ruling thing though, what do other humans just… do whatever you say? Why?”

“Cause we’re the ruling house?”

“Why would anyone listen to you?”

“Wooow.”

Prompto snickered at the fake look of irritation Noct shot him, the smile curling his lips giving him away. 

The food was incredible. If he had thought it had been good stealing snatches of lukewarm leftovers, it was nothing compared to when it was freshly made and steaming hot. So much so that he was actually disappointed when he found himself feeling full in record time.

“Are you sure you’ve had enough?” Noct questioned, “you didn’t really eat that much.”

“Dude, do you see how tiny my stomach is?” Prompto whined, flopping on to his back and letting his eyes fall closed, “I wish I could fit in more, this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“Then we clearly need to get you more foods to try,” Noctis huffed, lowering his spoon with the soft chime of metal against ceramic. 

“More food? Geez let me recover from this meal first,” he said, shifting sluggishly and wincing at the hard, cold wood pressing into his back, “pretty sure I won’t need to eat again til the day after tomorrow.”

When a reply didn’t come immediately, Prompto cracked an eye open curiously, the other quickly following when he found himself under the human’s searching gaze.

“What?” He said, hoping he didn’t sound as anxious as he felt. Noctis blinked sharply.

“Uh, nothing,” he said quickly, eyes darting away as he shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth, though Prompto didn’t quite miss the flicker of something sad in them, “just, um, thinking.”

“About?” He prodded.

Noct was silent for another long moment.

“Just about how I’m gonna get pancakes for breakfast tomorrow and watch them blow your tiny mind.”

Prompto squawked so hard he broke into a coughing fit, but couldn’t stop himself from laughing when it made Noct snort and inhale some of his curry. His body felt heavy, sluggish in a pleasant way, though the dull ache building in his bones he felt he could have done without, no doubt from all the climbing and curling up in drawers he had done.

A decent night’s sleep and he’d be right as rain. Which did bring up a whole new problem-

“Uh, Noct?”

“Mm?” Noct answered, still shamefully blowing spice out of his airway and trying and failing to be discreet about it.

“Do you- do you think you could lend me a shirt or something to sleep on?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Noctis did not give him a shirt to sleep on. Noctis gave him an entire, human-sized pillow. 

“I don’t need a bed that big,” he squeaked, blatantly staring from where he sat in Noct’s hand. The last of the movie had been just as enjoyable as the rest, but the deadly combination of a long, stressful day and a full belly had seen him yawning all through it, mirrored in a super-sized form by Noctis himself. It hadn’t taken too long into the rolling credits for them to make the mutual decision to head to bed.

Noctis shrugged.

“It’s not like I need it, I’ve already got plenty.”

And it was true, he counted at least six pillows littering the titanic, darkly spread bed, possibly even more stacked beneath the others. He had absolutely no clue why any one human would need so many pillows. Maybe it was a Prince thing.

“I think I’ll get lost in there in my sleep,” he whined, but didn’t complain when Noct tugged one free and laid it on the far side of the bed, before moving to gently set him down on top of it. 

The deliciously soft pillowcase gave beneath his meagre weight, forming a curve to his body when he rolled on to his side in a way remarkably close to what he imagined laying on a cloud would feel like.

“Ok, nevermind,” he said, letting his eyes fall closed in pure bliss, “I don’t think I want to move from this spot ever again.”

He heard Noct snort and the sound of a drawer opening but had barely cracked open an eye to see what he was up to before he found something dark and soft descending on him.

“Hey!” He yelped, squirming under the light fabric, yanking on it until he found an exit. He glared up at the mischievously grinning bean, pulling himself out from under the mound of cloth so he could work out what exactly it was.

His confusion must have been apparent on his face because Noctis spoke up again.

“It’s just an old bandana, I think it came with a game pack or something, but you can have it if you want.”

Prompto blinked up at him, wide-eyed.

“You’re- you’re giving this to me?” He repeated slowly.

“Yeah dude,” Noctis said with another shrug, “I don’t use it and it’ll work for now as a blanket, right?”

Prompto nodded faintly, still not quite able to believe he was just being _given_ all of this. This was probably more fabric than he had seen in his entire life, enough to stitch entire new sets of clothes and still serve as a blanket with plenty to spare. Such a resource was usually incredibly hard to come by, and risky to take without beans noticing.

“Thank you,” he stammered, not sure how he could even begin to pay him back for it. His hands tightened in the soft cloth, pulling it to his chest and running his fingers down the hemline reverently, like he almost feared he’d blink and it would disappear. 

“It’s cool,” Noct mumbled around a wide yawn, “geez I’m beat, what a wild day.”

“Not every day you get a bomb threat, huh?”

“Nah, but I guess if anyone in the city would it’d most likely be me,” Noctis replied, scrubbing a hand through his hair and down his face, “kinda got a target painted on my back with the whole Prince title.”

“Is it really that bad?” Prompto asked, sitting up again and shucking off his jacket to sleep in his undershirt, the thick material wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to sleep in, and he was damn well going to make the most of this, “I mean, this is the first time something like this has happened while I’ve been in your place.”

He internally grimaced at how that sounded, but he couldn’t take it back now.

“No,” Noct started, hesitated, his eyes going distant, “sort of? Most of the time it’s just… a lot.”

It didn’t really explain anything, but more than anything, Prompto understood the sentiment. 

“I get that.” After all, the entire world was ‘a lot’ to him. 

A tiny, shy smile pulled at the corner of Noct’s lips, and Prompto could idly feel himself mirroring it.

“But hey,” Prompto said, coughing to hide his embarrassed flush, “at least you have friends and family to support you though, right? I, uh, I might not really know them, but Ignis and Gladio, they seem like they care about you a lot.”

Noctis opened his mouth, then closed it again, something small and startled in his eyes, before it was overcome by something else entirely, something he couldn’t decipher.

“Uh, yeah, yeah I guess,” Noct said awkwardly. Prompto paused where he had been folding his jacket, looking up worriedly.

“Noct?”

“No, um, you’re right,” Noctis said quickly, but the distant look was still in his eyes, “I- I know that, it’s just, sometimes hard to believe.”

Prompto tilted his head, rolling up the last of the jacket and shoving it behind him to act as a pillow, pulling out his pin and grappling hook and setting them just under his feet before letting himself recline back down.

“Any harder to believe than a borrower actually having a good time with a human?”

Noctis’ head snapped to him, startled.

“I mean, a couple of weeks ago I honestly thought that the worst thing that could ever happen to me would be being captured by you guys again.”

“Gee, thanks,” Noct huffed, the amusement in his voice belying any actual insult.

“Not my fault, you didn’t really give a great first impression.”

“I didn’t exactly expect a tiny person to be living in my house.”

“That was the whole point!”

Noctis rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but his small smile had spread into a mirthful grin.

“So sue me for being curious, if it had been you you’re telling me you’d have just ignored it?”

“You can be curious without chasing me around your home and sticking me under a bowl,” Prompto huffed, finding he wasn’t even really upset about it anymore, the disastrous chain of events revealed completely in a new light now. Granted it didn’t exactly make it alright, but more understandable for sure. 

He rolled on to his side with a grunt, his sore muscles protesting, so he was facing the human, throwing him a mock glare.

“You know you beans can explore things without using your hands right? Or yelling the entire time,” he mumbled, breaking off in a long yawn.

“Alright alright I get it,” Noctis laughed, “we really botched the first meeting.”

“Understatement, pretty sure you knocked at least ten years off my life.”

“Why am I the one getting bullied here?”

“It’s like you’re allergic to gentle.”

“You’re like, the size of my finger.”

“Exactly, don’t be mean to me I’m small.”

Noctis rolled his eyes again, but his smile didn’t dim as he pulled the covers up on his side of the bed before climbing in, now in a soft looking shirt and pants. Prompto perked his head up slightly, already feeling the tell-tale sluggishness of sleep dragging at his limbs.

“Are you sure you’re alright with me sleeping here? I can go on the floor or-”

“No gods damn way,” Noctis cut in, incensed by the very suggestion, “dude, you really think I take up that much space?”

Prompto shrugged.

“Honestly I’m more worried about you accidentally shoving me off the bed in the middle of the night.”

Noct snorted.

“Trust me, I don’t move much when I’m asleep.”

“Do you snore? Cause I don’t want my ears blown out either,” Prompto said with a grin.

“Haha,” Noct replied, sarcasm dripping from each word as he wriggled down under the covers until his head hit the pillow, “shut up and go to sleep.”

“Rude,” Prompto mumbled, but he was hardly willing to argue. The pillow he was on was so ridiculously luxurious compared to all the hard, dusty floors he had taken to sleeping on the past week, and even made his own bed seem uncomfortable in comparison. He practically melted into it, smiling as he curled a hand into the soft blanket, tugging it up to just beneath his nose and reaching back for the exhaustion clawing at the edges of his brain. 

“Uh, also,” Noctis murmured, making him jump, “if you need anything in the night just wake me up.”

“Alright,” Prompto agreed, even as a voice in his head immediately asked ‘_how?_’. 

“You prefer the light on or off?”

Prompto cracked an eye open at that, befuddled by it for a long moment.

“Uh, off? I don’t really mind.” He hadn’t really thought about it to be honest.

“Cool,” Noct said with a nod, leaning over to fiddle with the bedside lamp and Prompto let his eyes slide shut again, wriggling a little further down into his cushy bed. There was a sharp click, and then the dim light behind his eyelids went dark.

Except it didn’t.

Prompto blinked in the substantial light still filling the room, twisting to look behind him, curious if Noct had left another light on. And immediately scrambled to sit back up.

“What’s wrong?” Noctis said urgently, jerking up on to his elbows. Prompto didn’t reply right away, his eyes were locked to the giant windows, at the bright glow of an endless city he was too high up to even see lighting the entire room up. It took him a couple of moments to close his mouth and find his tongue.

“I’ve never slept in this much light before,” he breathed, “it’s… always dark in the walls.”

“Oh.”

Prompto nodded faintly, still amazed at the sea of gold light bubbling up from beneath the edges of the enormous windows, almost enough to push aside his exhaustion and drive him to look out and see the city lights stretch off into the distance. But the dull ache in his muscles was still thrumming softly beneath his skin, and his eyelids were heavy with the grip of oncoming sleep, guiding him back down into the dip of the pillow.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t,” Noctis replied, settling back down himself, hesitating a moment before adding, “I can close the curtains if it bothers you?”

“No!” Prompto blurted, “please it’s- it’s really nice.”

Across from him, he could only just make out one of Noct’s eyes peering at him beneath his messy bangs, crinkled with a small, decidedly fond smile.

“Tomorrow night we can sit at the window for a while, if you want,” he said, his eye falling closed and voice growing heavy with drowsiness, “you can check the view out all you want.”

Prompto smiled sleepily.

“That sounds awesome, thanks Noct, for everything,” he hummed, rolling on to his opposite side, and falling asleep with something other than the dust and darkness for company for the first time in years.


End file.
